Reactive Power Performance Requirements for Wind and

Solar Plants
J.R. Williams*, A. Ellis, R. Nelson, E. Von Engeln, R. Walling, J. MacDowell,
L. Casey, E. Seymour, W. Peter, C. Barker and B. Kirby
Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by
Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-
AC04-94AL85000.
*jwilli2@sandia.gov SAND2012-5850C

Background Recommendations
 A current challenge faced by the electric utility industry is to Modification of Existing NERC Standards:
determine how variable generation plants (wind and solar) should
contribute to the reliable operation of the electric grid. NERC should consider revisions to its Facility Design, Connections, and Maintenance (FAC) and
Voltage and Reactive (VAR) standards to ensure that reactive power requirements for all
 Traditionally, bulk system voltage regulation has predominately generators are addressed in a technically clear and technology-neutral manner.
been supplied by synchronous generators, and this is reflected in
the language of industry requirements. Where variable generation  Consider adding a clarification to FAC-001 expanding R.2.1.3 or as an appendix, stating that
is concerned the requirements are vague and unclear. interconnection standards for reactive power must cover specifications for minimum static and
dynamic reactive power requirements at full power and at partial power, and how terminal
 The technology used in variable generation plants are capable of voltage should affect the power factor or reactive range requirement.
providing voltage support, but will require a shift from how these
plants are traditionally operated.  Consider modifying VAR-001 to include the term “plant level volt/var controller” (in addition to
“AVR”), which is more appropriate for variable generation.
 This paper discusses the capability of wind and solar plants to
provide voltage regulation. It also examines the deficiencies in General Recommendations for Standards Development and Reconciliation:
existing standards and provides recommendations to improve
upon existing standards in order to clearly define the role of  NERC should promote greater uniformity and clarity of reactive power requirements contained
variable generation in providing voltage support to the bulk electric in connection standards that Transmission Operators have issued pursuant to FAC-001. NERC,
grid. FERC, and other applicable regional standards should be reconciled.

 NERC should consider initiating a Standards Authorization Request (SAR) to establish minimum
reactive power capability standards for interconnection of all generators, and provide clear
Reactive Capability of Synchronous Generators definitions of acceptable control performance.

 A typical requirement is for 0.95 power factor lag to lead at the Point of
Technical Guidelines for Specification of Reactive Power Requirements:
Interconnection, meaning that the machine should be capable of  Generator interconnection requirement for reactive power should be clearly established for all
providing (lagging pf) or absorbing (leading) approximately 1/3 of its generator technologies. NERC adheres to the notion of technology neutrality when it comes to
active power rating (MW) in reactive power (MVAr). reliability standards; however, certain unique characteristics of variable generation may justify
different applicability criteria or appropriate variances. NERC should consider giving
 This “lag to lead” specification originated from FERC Order 2000 (Large transmission planners some discretion to establish variance based on the characteristics of
Generator Interconnection Agreement) and was suggested by NERC as a their transmission system.
representative synchronous generator capability.
 The reactive range requirement should be defined over the full output range. A Q versus P chart
 Conventional synchronous generator reactive power capability is should be used for clarity. It makes technical sense to allow variable generation to operate
typically described by a “D curve” that covers the range from zero to within a permissive reactive power range (as opposed to a power factor envelope) when the
rated output. active power level is below a reasonable threshold such as 20% of plant rating.

 A specification of “0.95 lag to lead at full power” is commonly
stipulated for variable generation. However, terminal voltage
limitations also affect reactive power capability of variable
generators; therefore, to capture this effect, the reactive power
versus voltage characteristic should be specified separately
from the reactive range. For example, in addition to a “0.95 lag
to lead” reactive range requirement, the chart to the left could be
used to specify the reactive power capability versus voltage
characteristic.
Reactive Capability of Wind and Solar PV Plants
 PV Plants and the latest wind turbines (Type III/IV) use power converters. The reactive capability of
power electronic converters differ from those of synchronous machines because they are normally
not power-limited, as synchronous machines are, but limited by the internal voltage, temperature, and
current constraints.
 Doubly fed and full-converter wind turbines are often sold
with a triangular, rectangular, or D shape reactive
characteristic, shown in the figure to the right.
 Machines with rectangular or D-shaped reactive capability
characteristic may be employed to provide voltage
regulation service when they are not producing active
power by operation in a STATCOM mode. However, this
capability may not be available or may not be enabled by
default.
 Another emerging practice is to adjust reactive output
per a “reactive droop” characteristic, using the
transmission voltage.
 Reactive droop capability has yet to be demonstrated in
the field for solar PV plants although there are no
technical impediments to the implementation of such a
control scheme.
 Individual wind generators and solar PV inverters
typically follow a power factor, or reactive power, set
point.
 A Q versus V chart could be used to describe the relationship between system voltage and
reactive power. A reduced requirement to inject vars into the power system when the POI
voltage is significantly above nominal and a reduced requirement to absorb vars when the POI
voltage is significantly below nominal should be considered.
 The standard should clearly define what is meant by “Dynamic” Reactive Capability. The
standard could specify the portion of the reactive power capability that is expected to be
dynamic.
 Expected volt/var control performance should be specified, including minimum control response
time for voltage control, power factor control, and reactive power control.
 Synchronization of generators to the grid should not cause excessive dynamic or steady-state
voltage change at the point of connection. A 2% limit may be considered as a baseline.
 NERC should investigate whether transmission operators can, under some conditions, allow
variable generating plants to operate normally or temporarily at an active power level where
dynamic reactive capability is limited or zero. The possibility of operating in this manner could
be considered as part of the interconnection study.
Conclusions
 As variable generation continues to grow in capacity on the electric utility grid it is necessary
to transition from the operational practice of reactive support being solely provided by
synchronous generators.
 Advances in the technology used for variable generation has now provided them with the
capability for voltage regulation and reactive support, compared to older induction generators
and line commutated devices.
 This paper provided a set of recommendations to changes in existing practices that can be
used by industry in order to transition variable generation from being a non-entity in reactive
power support to being a contributor to enhanced grid reliability.
References
• FERC Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA), June 16, 2005. [Online]. Available:
www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/gi/stnd-gen/2003-CLGIA.doc
• NERC Standard FAC-001-0 Facility Connection Requirements, February 8, 2005. [Online]. Available: www.nerc.com/files/FAC-001-0.pdf
• NERC Standard VAR-001-2 Voltage and Reactive Control, August 5, 2010. [Online]. Available: www.nerc.com/files/VAR-001-2.pdf
• EWEA Generic Grid Code Format for Wind power Plants, November 29, 2009. [Online]. Available:
www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/publications/091127_GGCF_Final_Draft.pdf
• NERC Standard VAR-002-1.1b Generator Operation for Maintaining Network Voltage Schedules, February 10, 2009. [Online]. Available:
www.nerc.com/files/VAR-002-1_1b.pdf